颗粒材料三维应力路径下的接触组构特性

颗粒材料的宏观应力变形特征与其微观接触力、组构等紧密相关.一般而言,强接触系统属于颗粒内部体系的传力结构,其对应的组构张量是影响宏观应力性质的重要因素.细观数值方法 (如离散单元法)能够反映物理试验的基本规律,并且可以方便地提取宏微观数据来研究颗粒体系的应力变形机制.采用离散单元法(discrete element method, DEM)进行一系列等p等b应力路径下颗粒材料的真三轴试验,在此基础上研究了三维应力路径下颗粒材料的宏微观力学参数的演化过程、三维组构张量与应力张量多重联系以及强接触体系反映的宏观应力特征.研究表明:颗粒体系偏应力峰值状态和临界状态均存在与加载路径无关的宏微观特征;三维应力路径下组构张量与应力张量存在非共轴性,但其联合不变量演化过程表现出加载路径无关的特征;与弱接触系统的组构张量相比,强接触系统的组构张量更能反映宏观应力张量的特征;强弱接触体系的组构张量对颗粒体系宏观响应的贡献不同,其分界点存在一定取值范围,但采用平均接触力较为简单合理.     

考虑颗粒转矩的接触网络诱发各向异性分析

颗粒材料的宏观力学行为与接触网络的组构各向异性密切相关, 根据接触点的滑动与否、转动与否和强弱力情况, 可以将颗粒间的接触系统分为不同的子接触网络. 一般而言, 不同的子接触网络在颗粒体系中的传力机制不同, 对宏观力学响应的贡献也有不同. 采用离散单元法(discrete element method, DEM)模拟了不同抗转动系数$\mu_r$下颗粒材料三轴剪切试验, 分析了剪切过程中不同子接触网络的组构张量的演变规律, 并探究了颗粒抗转动效应对子接触网络各向异性指标演变规律的影响. 研究发现: 剪切过程中转动、非转动接触的组构张量变化不是独立的, 受到颗粒间滑动与否的影响; 非滑动、强接触网络是颗粒间的主要传力结构, 非滑动接触网络的接触法向和法向接触力各向异性均随$\mu_r$的增大而增大, 其对宏观应力的贡献程度随$\mu_r$的增大而减小;强接触网络的接触法向各向异性随$\mu_r$的增大而增大, 但法向接触力各向异性随$\mu_r$的增大无明显变化, 强接触网络对宏观应力的贡献程度在不同$\mu_r$情况下均相同.      

基于细观拓扑结构演化的颗粒材料剪胀性分析

剪胀性是包括岩土材料在内的摩擦性颗粒材料的重要特征之一,其形成机制与颗粒体系内部拓扑结构的演化有关.基于颗粒体系细观数据,可对颗粒体系内部的拓扑结构特征及演化进行分析,进而建立拓扑演化与宏观剪胀变形之间的联系.采用离散单元法,根据密实、中密和松散摩擦性颗粒材料双轴试验的宏微观数据,从拓扑参量演化及接触网络拓扑变化所引起...     

粒料固有各向异性的离散元模拟与细观分析

料在摊铺后形成的颗粒定向排列将导致其力学性质的固有各向异性. 依据粒料的实际不规则形状, 构建了可模拟粒间咬合嵌挤作用的三维离散元复杂形状颗粒; 生成了5 种不同沉积方向的各向异性试件和1种各向同性试件, 对比了各试件在三轴压缩试验中的宏观力学特性差异; 引入组构张量以量化各向异性程度, 利用玫瑰图表达接触法向与接触力的分布特征, 探究了粒料各向异性的细观发展规律. 结果表明: 颗粒长轴愈趋向水平排布, 峰值应力比愈大, 剪缩与剪胀程度愈明显; 相较于各向同性试件, 沉积角$\theta$为料在摊铺后形成的颗粒定向排列将导致其力学性质的固有各向异性. 依据粒料的实际不规则形状, 构建了可模拟粒间咬合嵌挤作用的三维离散元复杂形状颗粒; 生成了5 种不同沉积方向的各向异性试件和1种各向同性试件, 对比了各试件在三轴压缩试验中的宏观力学特性差异; 引入组构张量以量化各向异性程度, 利用玫瑰图表达接触法向与接触力的分布特征, 探究了粒料各向异性的细观发展规律. 结果表明: 颗粒长轴愈趋向水平排布, 峰值应力比愈大, 剪缩与剪胀程度愈明显; 相较于各向同性试件, 沉积角$\theta$为$0^\circ$时, 峰值应力比和最大体积压缩应变分别提高了12.6\%和18.8\%, 其原因在于加载过程中颗粒旋转和滑动百分比更小, 内部调整时间更短、更易被剪密; 固有各向异性对颗粒法向接触力分布的影响不大, 但显著影响接触法向分布特征; 剪切过程中, $\theta$为$90^\circ$时的接触法向各向异性系数先快速减小后逐渐增大, 而$\theta$为$0^\circ$到$60^\circ$时则呈现出增大后稍有回落或趋于稳定的趋势, 且$\theta$ 愈小的试件各向异性系数增大愈快.     

基于微面有效应力矢量的各向异性屈服准则

基于微面模型，定义损伤变量为微面上有效承载面积的减少. 将Kachanov的一维有效 应力概念推广到三维，提出微面有效应力矢量的概念. 根据微面的有效应力矢量，将无损材 料的宏观应力张量及不变量与微面应力矢量的积分关系拓展到有损材料，得到了有损材料的 宏观有效应力张量及其不变量与宏观名义应力张量、微面面积损伤组构张量之间的关系. 将 无损材料的以应力张量不变量表示的Drucker-Prager准则推广到有损材料，建立了含缺陷 材料的各向异性屈服准则. 对有损材料，宏观有效应力张量与Murakami的有效应力张量具 有相同的形式，各向异性强度准则与Liu等提出的扩展Hill准则有相同的形式，当不考虑 静水应力对屈服的影响时，它与Hill准则具有相同的形式.     

考虑等效曲率的超二次曲面单元非线性接触模型

基于连续函数包络的超二次曲面单元可有效地描述自然界和工业生产中的非球体颗粒形态, 并通过非线性迭代方法精确计算单元间的接触力. 对于具有复杂几何形态的超二次曲面单元, 线性接触模型不能准确地计算不同接触模式下的作用力. 考虑超二次曲面单元相互作用时不同颗粒形状及表面曲率的影响, 本文发展了相应的非线性黏弹性接触模型. 该模型将不同接触模式下的法向刚度和黏滞力统一表述为单元间局部接触点处等效曲率半径的函数; 切向接触作用则借鉴基于Mohr-Coulomb摩擦定律的球体单元非线性接触模型的计算方法. 为检验超二次曲面单元接触模型的可靠性, 对球形颗粒间的法向碰撞、椭球体颗粒间的斜冲击过程、圆柱体的静态堆积和椭球体的动态卸料过程进行离散元模拟, 并与有限元数值结果及试验结果进行对比验证. 计算表明, 考虑接触点处等效曲率半径的超二次曲面非线性接触模型可准确地计算单元间的接触碰撞作用, 并合理地反映非球形颗粒体系的运动规律. 在此基础上进一步分析了不同长宽比和表面尖锐度对卸料过程中颗粒流动特性的影响, 为非球形颗粒材料的流动特性分析提供了一种有效的离散元方法.      

基于FEM-DEM的三体摩擦界面中接触行为与应力的多尺度分析

为了研究三体摩擦界面中第一体变形与第三体状态的相互影响,利用耦合有限元法和离散元法的多尺度法模拟了平行板剪切颗粒第三体的过程。整个模型分为两个区域：有限元区域（上板）和离散元区域（第三体和下板）,上板在一定的外载荷压应力下挤压颗粒第三体,下板以恒定的速度剪切颗粒第三体。为实现两个子区域间的相互联系,建立了子区域间应力应变的传递机制。实现了三体摩擦界面的多尺度分析,模拟了平行板剪切颗粒第三体的过程。模拟结果表明：当外载荷压应力低于10MPa时,颗粒间的碰撞增多使得第三体内量纲归一化平均应力增大,宏观摩擦系数也随之增大;在剪切过程中,第三体内部颗粒间的接触随接触角度的分布呈现出一定的规律性,0~90°各区间内的强接触较多,尤其在54°~72°之间;颗粒接触随接触力大小的分布也具有一定的规律性,接触力与第三体颗粒平均接触力的比值在0~0.6之间内的接触较多,随后接触力越大,接触数越少。同时,第一体内压应力分布与第三体内力链的分布相对应,力链越强则与其接触的第一体的压应力越大。     

应力历史对颗粒材料强度和变形特征影响的离散元模拟

主要关注了颗粒材料前期所受的应力历史对其后期宏观力学响应的影响。该应力历史由一段等比例加载应力路径以及卸载垂直方向应力至与水平方向围压相同的卸载段描述。具体工作为:基于PFC2D双轴压缩数值实验,调查了应力历史对颗粒样本的强度、变形特征、细观参量如组构的影响,得出颗粒样本的偏应力-应变、体积应变曲线及其发生破坏时的名义应变云图。数值结果表明:高低围压下样本分别发生剪切破坏和弥散破坏,高围压下弹性阶段的刚度受应力历史影响较大,而低围压下样本在刚进入塑性至应力峰值点阶段的弹塑性刚度变化较为明显。随着应力历史中等比例加载系数的增大,剪胀加快,变形局部化范围有所不同;另一方面,颗粒形状的不规则性会增强颗粒材料的各向异性,导致样本强度更高。     

凸轮与平底从动件的接触变形与接触刚度计算

将凸轮与平底从动件接触视为二维线性接触,基于无限大半空间模型对从动件的变形量进行了分析,利用圆柱体二维线接触变形的计算方法对凸轮接触变形进行了计算,从而得到了凸轮与平底从动件的接触变形量与接触刚度理论计算公式。利用Palmgren公式和有限元方法对计算公式进行了验证,并分析了接触刚度与凸轮曲率半径、接触力之间的关系,结果表明:接触应力、接触半宽、凸轮接触变形量的理论计算值与有限元计算结果几乎相等,凸轮与从动件的接触变形量之和的理论计算值与有限元计算值相差小于5%;凸轮与平底从动件的接触变形之和、接触刚度都与接触处凸轮的曲率半径无关,而与凸轮与平底从动件间的接触力大小有关。     

高频振动下岩土颗粒材料动力行为及细观机理

针对高频振动条件下岩土颗粒材料动力响应放大的现象,采用离散元法开展了一系列动双轴数值试验,分析了不同荷载频率下岩土颗粒材料的动力行为及其细观特征．试验结果表明：对于模拟的岩土颗粒材料,在加载频率为30～40 Hz时的动力变形尤其明显,加载过程中塑性变形快速发展,试件内部形成“八”字型剪切带,动刚度显著降低．提出了“竖向分布系数”描述试件内部的局部变形规律,并结合颗粒细观受力特征,探究了试件变形加剧和刚度弱化的细观机理．研究发现相较20 Hz和60 Hz工况,加载频率为40 Hz时试件中下部区域的局部动变形振动幅值明显增大,颗粒处于高度动力非平衡态,颗粒体系的排列结构和接触力剧烈调整,使得试件变形加剧、承载性能显著弱化．     

Macro–micro relations in granular mechanics

In granular mechanics, macroscopic approaches treat a granular material as an equivalent continuum at macro-scale, and study its constitutive relationship between macro-quantities, such as stresses and strains. On the other hand, microscopic approaches consider a granular material as an assembly of individual particles interacting with each other at micro-scale (i.e., particle-scale), and the physical quantities under study are forces and displacements. This paper aims at linking up the findings from these two scales and to establish the macro–micro relations in granular mechanics.Three aspects of the macro–micro relations are investigated. They are about the internal structure, the stress tensor and the strain tensor. The internal structure is described with geometrical systems at the particle scale. Micro-structural definitions of the stress and strain tensors are derived, which link the macro-stress tensor with the contact forces, and the macro-strain tensor with the relative displacements at contact. In addition to a brief review of the past research work on these topics, further generalizations are made in this paper. In particular, the two cell systems proposed by Li and Li (2009), namely the solid cell system and the void cell system, are introduced and used for the derivation of the macro-structural expressions. The stress expression is derived based on Newton’s second law of motion. The result is valid for both static and dynamic cases. The strain expression is derived based on the compatibility requirement. And the expression is valid for any tessellation subdividing the granular assembly into polyhedral elements.The homogenization for deriving a macroscopic constitutive relationship from microscopic behaviour is discussed. Attention is placed on the macroscopic quantification of the internal structure in terms of a second rank tensor, known as the fabric tensor. Existing definitions of the fabric tensors have been reviewed. The correlations among different fabric tensors and their relations with the stress–strain behaviours have been investigated.     

Micro-scale behavior of granular materials during cyclic loading

This study presents the micro-scale behavior of granular materials under biaxial cyclic loading for differ- ent confining pressures using the two-dimensional （2D） discrete element method （DEM）. Initially, 8450 ovals were generated in a rectangular frame without any overlap. Four dense samples having confining pressures of 15, 25, 50, and 100 kPa were prepared from the initially generated sparse sample. Numeri- cal simulations were performed under biaxial cyclic loading using these isotropically compressed dense samples. The numerical results depict stress-strain-dilatancy behavior that was similar to that observed in experimental studies. The relationship between the stress ratio and dilatancy rate is almost indepen- dent of confining pressures during loading but significantly dependent on the confining pressures during unloading. The evolution of the coordination number, effective coordination number and slip coordina- tion number depends on both the confining pressures and cyclic loading. The cyclic loading significantly affects the microtopology of the granular assembly. The contact fabric and the fabric-related anisotropy are reported, as well. A strong correlation between the stress ratio and the fabric related to contact normals is observed during cyclic loading, irrespective of confining pressures.     

Micro-scale behavior of granular materials during cyclic loading

This study presents the micro-scale behavior of granular materials under biaxial cyclic loading for different confining pressures using the two-dimensional (2D) discrete element method (DEM). Initially, 8450 ovals were generated in a rectangular frame without any overlap. Four dense samples having confining pressures of 15, 25, 50, and 100 kPa were prepared from the initially generated sparse sample. Numerical simulations were performed under biaxial cyclic loading using these isotropically compressed dense samples. The numerical results depict stress–strain–dilatancy behavior that was similar to that observed in experimental studies. The relationship between the stress ratio and dilatancy rate is almost independent of confining pressures during loading but significantly dependent on the confining pressures during unloading. The evolution of the coordination number, effective coordination number and slip coordination number depends on both the confining pressures and cyclic loading. The cyclic loading significantly affects the microtopology of the granular assembly. The contact fabric and the fabric-related anisotropy are reported, as well. A strong correlation between the stress ratio and the fabric related to contact normals is observed during cyclic loading, irrespective of confining pressures.     

DEM investigation of strain behaviour and force chain evolution of gravel–sand mixtures subjected to cyclic loading

The strain characteristic and load transmission of mixed granular matter are different from those of homogeneous granular matter. Cyclic loading renders the mechanical behaviours of mixed granular matter more complex. To investigate the dynamic responses of gravel–sand mixtures, the discrete element method (DEM) was used to simulate the cyclic loading of gravel–sand mixtures with low fines contents. Macroscopically, the evolution of the axial strain and volumetric strain was investigated. Mesoscopically, the coordination number and contact force anisotropy were studied, and the evolution of strong and weak contacts was explored from two dimensions of loading time and local space. The simulation results show that increasing fines content can accelerate the development of the axial strain and volumetric strain but has little effect on the evolution of contact forces. Strong contacts tend to develop along the loading boundary, presenting the spatial difference. Weak contacts are firstly controlled by confining pressure and then controlled by axial stress, while strong contacts are mainly controlled by axial stress throughout the whole cyclic loading. Once compression failure occurs, the release of axial stress causes the reduction of strong contact proportion in all local regions. These findings are helpful to understand the dynamic responses of gravel–sand mixtures, especially in deformation behaviours and the Spatio-temporal evolution of contact forces.     

Fabric and connectivity as field descriptors for deformations in granular media

Granular materials involve microphysics across the various scales giving rise to distinct behaviours of geomaterials, such as steady states, plastic limit states, non-associativity of plastic and yield flow, as well as instability of homogeneous deformations through strain localization. Incorporating such micro-scale characteristics is one of the biggest challenges in the constitutive modelling of granular materials, especially when micro-variables may be interdependent. With this motivation, we use two micro-variables such as coordination number and fabric anisotropy computed from tessellation of the granular material to describe its state at the macroscopic level. In order to capture functional dependencies between micro-variables, the correlation between coordination number and fabric anisotropy limits is herein formulated at the particle level rather than on an average sense. This is the essence of the proposed work which investigates the evolutions of coordination number distribution (connectivity) and anisotropy (contact normal) distribution curves with deformation history and their inter-dependencies through discrete element modelling in two dimensions. These results enter as probability distribution functions into homogenization expressions during upscaling to a continuum constitutive model using tessellation as an abstract representation of the granular system. The end product is a micro-mechanically inspired continuum model with both coordination number and fabric anisotropy as underlying micro-variables incorporated into a plasticity flow rule. The derived plastic potential bears striking resemblance to cam–clay or stress–dilatancy-type yield surfaces used in soil mechanics.     

Dissipation consistent fabric tensor definition from DEM to continuum for granular media

In elastoplastic soil models aimed at capturing the impact of fabric anisotropy, a necessary ingredient is a measure of anisotropic fabric in the form of an evolving tensor. While it is possible to formulate such a fabric tensor based on indirect phenomenological observations at the continuum level, it is more effective and insightful to have the tensor defined first based on direct particle level microstructural observations and subsequently deduce a corresponding continuum definition. A practical means able to provide such observations, at least in the context of fabric evolution mechanisms, is the discrete element method (DEM). Some DEM defined fabric tensors such as the one based on the statistics of interparticle contact normals have already gained widespread acceptance as a quantitative measure of fabric anisotropy among researchers of granular material behavior. On the other hand, a fabric tensor in continuum elastoplastic modeling has been treated as a tensor-valued internal variable whose evolution must be properly linked to physical dissipation. Accordingly, the adaptation of a DEM fabric tensor definition to a continuum constitutive modeling theory must be thermodynamically consistent in regards to dissipation mechanisms. The present paper addresses this issue in detail, brings up possible pitfalls if such consistency is violated and proposes remedies and guidelines for such adaptation within a recently developed Anisotropic Critical State Theory (ACST) for granular materials.     

Micromorphic modeling of granular dynamics

This paper provides micromorphic modeling of a granular material. Micromorphic modeling treats an individual particle as a microelement and the particle composition in a representative volume element as a macroelement. By specifying the volume of a macroelement, continuum volume-type quantities such as mass density, body force, body couple, kinetic energy density, internal energy density, specific heat supply, etc., are determined by taking the averages of their discrete counterparts in a macroelement. The discrete expressions for the divergence of surface-type quantities (fluxes) are obtained with the help of discrete–continuum analogy for the discrete balance equations. We demonstrate that the discrete formulation of stress tensor in the dynamic condition, which involves both contributions from body forces and relative particle accelerations in a macroelement, can be simply expressed in terms of contact forces and branch vectors. This study constructs complete discrete-type and continuum-type balance equations for a granular material in a macroelement and at a macroscopic point, using the discrete–continuum correspondence for these field quantities.